Method and apparatus for providing internet service based on user&#39;s location information in a communication system

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses are provided for providing an internet service by a server in a communication system. A user interface for selecting whether to provide a search service based on location information of a subscriber station, is provided to the subscriber station. If the subscriber station selects to be provided the search service based on the location information, the location information of the subscriber station is acquired using a location information server or a cell identifier (ID) according to an existence of the location information server in the communication system. Data is sought based on the location information. The data is provided to the subscriber station.

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 11/865,486, filed on Oct. 1, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,787,937,issued on Jul. 22, 2014, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)to a Korean Patent Application filed in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice on Sep. 30, 2006 and assigned Serial No. 2006-96690 and a KoreanPatent Application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office onApr. 27, 2007 and assigned Serial No. 2007-41640, the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus forproviding Internet services based on user's location information in acommunication system.

2. Description of the Related Art

The communication system has location information of a correspondinguser, which is provided using information on a base station of a cellaccessed by a subscriber station or using a location information server.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional wireless communication system.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional wireless communication systemroughly includes a communication system 100, the Internet 120, anInternet service provider 130 and a subscriber station 140.

The communication system 100 includes a Location Information Server(LIS) server 102, a device capability server 104, a user profile server106, a Quality of Service (QoS) Server 108 and a billing server 110.

The communication system 100 acquires location information of thecorresponding users using the LIS server 102. The other elements exceptfor the LIS server 102 are not closely related to the present invention,so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein for the sake ofconciseness.

In addition, the communication system 100 provides an Internet Protocol(IP) connection to the corresponding subscriber station 140 via a RadioAccess Station (RAS) 112 in charge of connecting a physical air section,an Access Service Network Gate Way (ASN GW) 114 in charge of a MediumAccess Control (MAC) section of an access network, and a ConnectivityService Network (CSN) 116 in charge of making a connection up to anetwork layer. Herein, the RAS 112 corresponds to a Base Station (BS) ofthe cellular communication system, the ASN GW 114 corresponds to a BaseStation Controller (BSC) and a Serving GPRS Supporting Node (SGSN) ofthe cellular communication system, and the CSN 116 corresponds to aPacket Data Service Node (PDSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN)of the cellular communication system.

The subscriber station 140 can be any type of terminal including, forexample, a Personal Computer (PC), a Personal Digital Assistants (PDA),a Portable Multimedia player (PMP) and a digital camera.

The Internet service provider 130 includes an Internet ProtocolTelevision (IPTV) server (132) for providing Internet-based televisionprograms to the subscriber station 140 via the Internet 120 connectedthereto, a music/video streaming server 134 for providing music/videostreaming services for transmitting/receiving music and video data inrealtime, a search server 136 for searching for the information requiredby the subscriber station 140, an advertising server 138 for providingadvertisements and an other service server 139 for providing otherservices.

The Internet service provider 130 is connected to the correspondingsubscriber station 140 via the Internet 120 using the IP connectionprovided by the CSN 116 of the communication system 100, and providesvarious Internet services, such as search, IPTV and Streaming services,to the subscriber station 140 via the servers 132 to 139 that providethe various services previously described.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional method for providing an Internetservice by an Internet service provider. It is assumed herein that asubscriber station now located in New York searches for a pizza shopusing the search service.

Referring to FIG. 2, the Internet service provider includes a searchserver 200 for providing the search service required by service users,the Internet 210 via which the service users can access the searchservice, a wireless communication network 220 in which the service usersare located, and a user interface 230 with which the service users caninput a search request to the search server 200.

If the service user inputs ‘pizza’ to the search item in the userinterface 230, the wireless communication network 220 sends a searchrequest for ‘pizza’ to the search server 200 (see 202).

Upon receipt of the search request, the search server 200 makes a searchfor the search item ‘pizza’, and then sends the corresponding searchresult 235 to the service user (see 204).

It is assumed herein that the service user now uses the wirelesscommunication network 220 in New York. However, because the Internetservice provider, providing the search service using the search server200, cannot acquire location information of the corresponding serviceuser, it may provide the service user with the search result 235including the searched pizza shops only in its searchable areas, forexample, Dallas, Las Vegas or San Jose, regardless of the location ofthe service user.

As described above, in the conventional configuration where the Internetservice is provided, the corresponding user receives not only itsnecessary information but also unnecessary information, causing a delayin the search time and causing a load due to the unnecessaryinformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the foregoingproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is toprovide a method and apparatus for providing an efficient Internetservice using location information of a user in a communication system.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor providing a service interface with which an Internet serviceprovider can use location information of a user.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatusin which a network accessed by a subscriber station provides an Internetservice in a communication system.

According to the present invention, a method is provided for providingan Internet service by a server in a communication system. A userinterface for selecting whether to provide a search service based onlocation information of a subscriber station, is provided to thesubscriber station. If the subscriber station selects to be provided thesearch service based on the location information, the locationinformation of the subscriber station is acquired using a locationinformation server or a cell identifier (ID) according to an existenceof the location information server in the communication system. Data issought based on the location information. The data is provided to thesubscriber station.

According to the present invention, an apparatus is provided forproviding an Internet service in a communication system. The apparatusincludes a controller for providing, to a subscriber station, a userinterface for selecting whether to provide a search service based onlocation information of the subscriber station. If the subscriberstation selects to be provided the search service based on the locationinformation, the controller acquires the location information of thesubscriber station using a location information server or a cell IDaccording to an existence of the location information server in thecommunication system, and searches data based on the locationinformation. The apparatus also includes a transceiver for providing thedata to the subscriber station by controlling the controller.

According to the present invention, a method is provided for using aninternet service by a subscriber station in a communication system. Asearch service is selected through a user interface for selectingwhether to provide the search service based on location information ofthe subscriber station. A search request is input to a server. Datacorresponding to the search request is received, from the server, basedon the location information. The location information is acquired usinga location information server or a cell ID according to an existence ofthe location information server in the communication system.

According to the present invention, an apparatus is provided for usingan internet service in a communication system. The apparatus includes acontroller for selecting a search service through a user interface forselecting whether to provide the search service based on locationinformation of the subscriber station, and inputting a search request toa server. The apparatus also includes a transceiver for receiving, fromthe server, data corresponding to the search request based on thelocation information. The location information is acquired using alocation information server or a cell ID according to an existence ofthe location information server in the communication system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional wireless communication system;

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional method for providing an Internetservice by an Internet service provider;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for providing an Internet service usinguser's location information in a wireless communication system accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration of a wireless communication systemaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a user interface according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrates a method for providing an Internet servicebased on user's location information depending on whether a networkaccessed by a subscriber station can support a USI according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling flow of a search service according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a signaling flow of a Push service based on locationinformation of a terminal according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a signaling flow of a search service according to afourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a signaling flow of an advertisement serviceaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart for providing a location-based Internetservice by an Internet server according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail with reference to the annexed drawings. In the drawings, the sameor similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals eventhough they are depicted in different drawings. In the followingdescription, a detailed description of known functions andconfigurations incorporated herein has been omitted for the sake ofclarity and conciseness.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing anInternet service based on user's location information in a wirelesscommunication system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for providing an Internet service usinguser's location information in a wireless communication system accordingto the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the wireless communication system includes a searchserver 300 for providing a search service and determining whether auser's access network supports a Universal Service Interface (USI) 340,the Internet 310, a wireless communication network 320 and an AccessNetwork Database (AN DB) 350 connected to the search server 300. Theuser interface 340, including a location-based search option box 342,can allow the user to select at least one of a normal search forproviding the existing search method, and a location information-basedsearch for providing a search based on location information of the user.Herein, the search server 300 determines whether the user's accessnetwork can support the USI by making reference to the AN DB 350, anddetermines whether to provide the location-based option box, orlocation-based interface, according to the determination result.

If the service user checks the location-based search option box 342 inthe user interface 340 and inputs ‘pizza’ to the search item to requesta search for it, the wireless communication network 320 forwards therequest of the service user to the search server 300 (see 302).

Upon receipt of the search request, the search server 300 sends arequest for location information of the user to a location-based searchserver 330 of the wireless communication network 320, and receives thelocation information of the user there from (see 304).

Upon acquiring the information indicating that the location of the useris New York, the search server 300 makes a search for pizza shopslocated in New York, and then sends the corresponding search result 345including the pizza shops located in New York, to the subscriber station(see 306).

However, if the network accessed by the subscriber station cannotsupport the USI, the subscriber station (or terminal) can use only theexisting normal search method, i.e. the search method in which thelocation-based search option box 342 is not displayed or inactivated. Inthe method for acquiring the user's location information, the searchserver 300 acquires the user's location information using thelocation-based search server 330 in the wireless communication network320. However, in an alternative method for acquiring locationinformation of the service user, the search server 300 can previouslycollect the location information frequently search-requested by thecorresponding service user by pursuing the usual search history of theservice user, or can acquire the recently accessed cell IDentifiers(IDs) by re-paging the corresponding subscriber station.

That is, based on the user's location information, the correspondinguser can search for only the necessary information that the user candirectly use.

FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration of a wireless communication systemaccording to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a wireless communication system roughly includes anInternet service provider 430 for providing Internet services such assearch and advertisement services, and the Internet 420 via which theservice user can access the Internet services. Herein, the communicationsystem 400 and the Internet service provider 430 can determine whetherthe network accessed by the user, or the terminal, can support a USI, inassociation with an AN DB 450 that stores the information indicatingwhether the network accessed by the terminal can support the USI.

The communication system 400 includes a location information server 402,a device capability server 404, a user profile server 406, a Quality ofService (QoS) Server 408, a billing server 410 and a USI server 418.

The communication system 400 provides an IP connection to acorresponding subscriber station 440 via a Radio Access Station (RAS)412 for connecting a physical air section, an ASN GW 414 for a MediumAccess Control (MAC) connection of an access network, and a CircuitSwitched Network (CSN) 416 for making a connection up to a networklayer. Herein, the RAS 412 corresponds to a base station of the cellularcommunication system, the ASN GW 414 corresponds to a Base StationController (BSC) and a Serving GPRS Supporting Node (SGSN) of thecellular communication system, and the CSN 416 corresponds to a PacketData Serving Node (PDSN) and a Gateway GPRS Serving Node (GGSN) of thecellular communication system. The ASN GW 414 stores information on thecell ID, last accessed by the subscriber station 440.

The Internet service provider 430 includes an Internet ProtocolTelevision (IPTV) server 432 for providing Internet-based televisionprograms to the subscriber station 440 via the Internet 420 connectedthereto, a music/video streaming server 434 for providing music/videostreaming services for transmitting/receiving music and video data inrealtime, a search server 436 for searching for the information requiredby the subscriber station 440, an advertising server 438 for providingadvertisements, and an other service server 439 for providing otherservices.

The Internet service provider 430 is connected to the correspondingsubscriber station 440 via the Internet 420 using the IP connectionprovided by the CSN 416 of the communication system 400, and providesvarious Internet services, such as search, IPTV and Streaming services,to the subscriber station 440 via the servers 432 to 439 that providethe various services previously described. Herein, the subscriberstation 440 can be any type of terminal including a Personal Computer(PC), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player(PMP) and a digital camera.

The communication system 400 acquires location information of thecorresponding users by means of the location information server 402. Theother elements except for the location information server 402 are notclosely related to the present invention, so a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted herein for the sake of conciseness.

The USI server 418 provides a user interface so that the Internetservice provider 430 can use location information of the correspondingsubscriber station 440, provided from the location information server402. A detailed description of the user interface will be made withreference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

Upon receipt of a request for location information of a particular userfrom the Internet service provider 430, the USI server 418 searches forlocation information of the corresponding user in response to therequest, and sends the searched location information to the Internetservice provider 430. Thereafter, the Internet service provider 430performs such services as search or advertisement based on the receiveduser's location information, thereby providing an efficient service tothe user.

Although the Internet service provider 430 herein acquires the user'slocation information from the location information server 402 via theUSI server 418, by way of example, it can also acquire the user'slocation information in other alternative methods.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a user interface according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5A, when the network accessed by a subscriber stationcan support a USI, an Internet service provider can provide to thesubscriber station an option box 500 with which it can make a selectionas to whether it will provide the search service using the user'slocation information of the communication system.

That is, if the subscriber station selects the location-based option,the Internet service provider acquires location information of thesubscriber station from the location information server 402 of thecommunication system 400 via the USI server 418, as for the informationsearch-requested by the subscriber station, and performs a search basedon the location information. Aside from the acquired information, theinformation indicating the current location address of the subscriberstation and whether the subscriber station can support the USI can bedisplayed through a separate window or information bar.

However, if the subscriber station does not select the location-basedoption, the Internet service provider performs the search without usingthe location information of the subscriber station, as for theinformation search-requested by the user, in the conventional manner.

Referring to FIG. 5B, when the network accessed by the subscriberstation cannot support the USI, the Internet service provider providesthe search service with no location-based search option box, or aninactivated search service, to the subscriber station.

The first embodiment of the present invention provides a search servicethat uses, as location information of the terminal, a cell ID lastaccessed by the subscriber station that has made a request for thesearch service, provided from an ASN GW of the communication system, andis based on the cell ID, when the communication system has no separatelocation information server.

FIG. 6A illustrates a method for providing a service interface accordingto whether a network accessed by a subscriber station can support a USIaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6A, in step 616, a subscriber station 600 a sends arequest for a web portal page to an Internet server 612 a, which servesas the search server 436 of FIG. 4.

In steps 617 and 618, the Internet server 612 a sends a request messagefor an access network, or source address, to an AN DB 611, and receivestherefrom an access network response message indicating whether thenetwork accessed by the subscriber station 600 a supports a USI. Todetermine whether the network supports the USI, the Internet server 612a can send the request message using an IP address of the subscriberstation (or terminal) 600 a to the AN DB 611 (Case 1), or can send therequest message using an IP address used in a firewall of the accessnetwork to the AN DB 611 (Case 2). In either case, the Internet server612 a can determine whether the network accessed by the subscriberstation 600 a supports the USI in association with the AN DB 611. If itis determined that the network accessed by the subscriber station 600 asupports the USI, the Internet server 612 a provides in step 619 a webportal page with a location-based search option box to the subscriberstation 600 a.

However, if the network accessed by the subscriber station 600 a doesnot support the USI, the Internet server 612 a provides in step 619 aweb portal page with no location-based search option box, or aninactivated location-based search option box, to the subscriber station600 a.

FIG. 6B illustrates a method for providing an Internet search servicebased on user's location information.

FIG. 6B includes a search server 612 b of an Internet service providerfor providing a search service, a subscriber station 600 b insubscribing to the search service, an RAS 602, which is a base stationof the cell where the subscriber station 600 b is located, an ASN GW 604for storing the last cell ID where the subscriber station 600 b has lastbeen located, a CSN 606 handling a connection with the subscriberstation 600 b and the network, a USI server 608 b serving as a userinterface between the subscriber station 600 b and the search server 612b for the search service based on location information, and a billingserver 610 for filling of the service used by the subscriber station 600b.

It will be assumed in FIGS. 6A to 10 that the network accessed by thesubscriber stations 600 b, 700, 800, 900 and 1000 uses the USI.

Referring to FIG. 6B, in step 620, the subscriber station 600 b selects‘location information option’, and sends a search request for particularinformation to the search server 612 b of the Internet service provider.Upon receipt of the search request, the search server 612 b sends arequest for a location of the subscriber station 600 b to the USI server608 b in step 622.

In step 628, the USI server 608 b sends a request for locationinformation of the subscriber station 600 b to the ASN GW 604. In step630, the ASN GW 604 sends the cell ID last accessed by the subscriberstation 600 b to the USI server 608 b. In step 636, the USI server 608 bforwards the last cell ID of the subscriber station 600 b to the searchserver 612 b.

Upon receipt of the last cell ID, the search server 612 b makes in step638 a search for requested particular information based on the last cellID of the subscriber station 600 b, and sends the search result to thesubscriber station 600 b. The search server 612 b sends a billinginformation update request to the USI server 608 b in step 640, and theUSI server 608 b sends the corresponding billing information to thesearch server 612 b in step 642.

Because the last cell ID, or location information, of the subscriberstation 600 b is the service that the USI server 608 b, or thecommunication system, has provided to the Internet service provider, theUSI server 608 b, upon receipt of a request for the billing informationupdate from the Internet service provider, operates as follows, and thenreports the result to the Internet service provider. Through steps 640and 642, the USI server 608 b records in the billing server 610 theinformation indicating that the location information of the subscriberstation 600 b was provided, and then receives a response thereto.

For example, in steps 622 to 636, ‘https’ is used for security, andExtensible Markup Language (XML) is utilized for structuring of theexchanged data. However, various alternatives are possible.

After a long time has elapsed from the instance when the last cell ID ofthe subscriber station 600 b was recorded in the ASN GW 604, there is apossibility that the last cell ID of the subscriber station 600 b willnot be correct. Therefore, in a second embodiment of the presentinvention, when the communication system has no separate locationinformation server and a long time has elapsed after the instance whenthe last cell ID of the subscriber station 600 b was recorded in the ASNGW 604, the Internet service provider requests the correspondingterminal to re-perform paging. That is, during paging, the terminalperforms the search service using, as location information of theterminal, the cell ID that the terminal accesses again at the currentlocation.

FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling flow of a search service according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention. It is assumed herein that along time has elapsed after the time when the last cell ID of asubscriber station 700 was recorded in an ASN GW 704.

FIG. 7 includes a search server (or Internet server) 712 of an Internetservice provider for providing a search service, a subscriber station700 in subscribing to the search service, an RAS 702, which is a basestation of the cell where the subscriber station 700 is located, an ASNGW 704 for storing the last cell ID of the subscriber station 700, a CSN706 handling a connection with the network, a USI server 708 serving asa user interface between the subscriber station 700 and the searchserver 712 for the search service based on location information, and abilling server 710 for filling of the service used by the subscriberstation 700.

In step 720, the subscriber station 700 selects ‘location informationoption’, and sends a search request for particular information to thesearch server 712 of the Internet service provider. In step 722, thesearch server 712 sends a paging request to the USI server 708 toacquire location information of the subscriber station 700.

In step 728, the USI server 708 sends a request for paging of thesubscriber station 700 to the ASN GW 704. In steps 730 and 732, the ASNGW 704 sends a paging command to the subscriber station 700 via the RAS702. In steps 734 and 736, the subscriber station 700 performs paging,and then sends its last cell ID to the ASN GW 704 via the RAS 702.

In step 738, the ASN GW 704 forwards the last cell ID to the USI server708 as location information of the subscriber station 700. In step 744,the USI server 708 forwards the last cell ID of the subscriber station700 acquired through the paging procedure to the search server 712. Instep 746, the search server 712 performs a search using the last cell IDof the subscriber station 700, and delivers the search result to thesubscriber station 700.

Because the last cell ID of the subscriber station 700 is the servicethat the USI server 708, or the network service provider, has providedto the Internet service provider, the USI server 708, upon receipt of abilling information update request from the Internet service provider,operates as follows, and then reports the result to the Internet serviceprovider. The search server 712 sends a billing information updaterequest to the USI server 708 in step 748, and the USI server 708records in step 750 in the billing server 710 the information indicatingthat the location information was provided, and then transmits thecorresponding billing information to the search server 712.

A third embodiment of the present invention provides a subscriberstation with a Push service based on location information of thesubscriber station. As to the location information of the subscriberstation, when the network service provider has no separate locationinformation server as in the second embodiment, it uses, as locationinformation of a terminal, the cell ID that the terminal has accessedagain, by sending a request for paging of the corresponding terminal.Thereafter, the Internet service provider sends a Push service to thesubscriber station based on the location information of the terminal.Herein, the Push service corresponds to the services to which thesubscriber station has not subscribed, i.e. such information as theevent or advertisement happening in the location of the subscriberstation. For example, the Internet service provider sends anadvertisement indicating the event happening in, for example, thedepartment stores in the Dallas area, for the user of the terminallocated in the Dallas area.

FIG. 8 illustrates a signaling flow of a Push service based on locationinformation of a terminal according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention. It is assumed herein that an advertisement service isprovided as an example of the Push service.

FIG. 8 includes an advertising server (or Internet server) 812 of anInternet service provider for providing an advertisement service, asubscriber station 800 in subscribing to the advertisement service, anRAS 802, which is a base station of the communication system (or cell)where subscriber station 800 is located, an ASN GW 804 for storing thelast cell ID of the subscriber station 800, a CSN 806 handling aconnection to the network, a USI server 808 handling interfacing betweenthe subscriber station 800 and the search server 812 using networkinformation of the user, and a billing server 810 for billing of theservice used by the subscriber station 800.

In step 820, the search server 812 sends a paging request to the USIserver 808 to acquire location information of the subscriber station800. In step 826, the USI server 808 sends a request for paging of thesubscriber station 800 to the ASN GW 804. In steps 828 and 830, the ASNGW 804 sends a paging command to the subscriber station 800 via the RAS802. In steps 832 and 834, the subscriber station 800 performs paging,and then sends its last cell ID to the ASN GW 804 via the RAS 802. Instep 836, the ASN GW 804 sends the last cell ID to the USI server 808 aslocation information of the subscriber station 800. In step 842, the USIserver 808 sends the last cell ID to the search server 812.

Upon receipt of the last cell ID, the search server 812 delivers in step844 the advertisement based on location information of the subscriberstation 800, to the subscriber station 800.

Similarly to FIG. 7, because the last cell ID, or location information,of the subscriber station 800 is the service that the USI server 808, orthe network service provider, provides to the Internet service provider,the USI server 808, upon receipt of a billing information update requestfrom the Internet service provider, operates as follows, and thenreports the result to the Internet service provider. The advertisingserver 812 sends a billing information update request to the USI server808 in step 846, and the USI server 808 records in the billing server810 the information indicating that the location information wasprovided, and then receives a response thereto. In step 848, the USIserver 808 sends the corresponding billing information to theadvertising server 812.

In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, when a communicationsystem accessed by a subscriber station has a separate locationinformation server, an Internet service provider acquires locationinformation of the terminal by means of the location information server,and then provides a search service using the location information.

FIG. 9 illustrates a signaling flow of a search service according to thefourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 includes a search server (or Internet server) 914 of an Internetservice provider for providing a search service, a subscriber station900 in subscribing to the search service, an RAS 902, which is a basestation of the communication system (or cell) where the subscriberstation 900 is located, an ASN GW 904 for storing an ID of the cellwhere the subscriber station 900 has last been located, a CSN 906handling a connection with the network, a USI server 908 for interfacingbetween the subscriber station 900 and the search server 914 to acquirelocation information of the subscriber station 900, a billing server 910for billing of the service used by the subscriber station 900, and alocation information server 912 for storing location information of thesubscriber station 900.

In step 922, the subscriber station 900 selects ‘location informationoption’, and sends a search request for its desired particularinformation to the search server 914 of the Internet service provider.Upon receipt of the search request, the search server 914 sends in step924 a request for a location of the subscriber station 900 to the USIserver 908. In step 930, the USI server 908 sends a request for locationinformation of the subscriber station 900 to the location informationserver 912. In step 932, the location information server 912 searchesfor location information of the subscriber station 900, and sends it tothe USI server 908. In step 938, the USI server 908 forwards thelocation information of the subscriber station 900 to the search server914.

Upon receipt of the location information, the search server 914 performsin step 940 a search using the location information of the subscriberstation 900, and delivers the search result to the subscriber station900.

Similarly to FIG. 7, because the location information of the subscriberstation 900 is the service that the USI server 908, or the networkservice provider, has provided to the Internet service provider, the USIserver 908, upon receipt of a billing information update request fromthe Internet service provider, operates as follows, and then reports theresult to the Internet service provider. The search server 914 sends abilling information update request to the USI server 908 in step 942,and the USI server 908 records in step 944 in the billing server 910 theinformation indicating that the location information was provided. Instep 944, the USI server 908 sends the corresponding billing informationto the search server 914.

It is assumed herein that in steps 924 and 938, ‘https’ is used forsecurity and XML is used for structuring of the exchanged data.

In a fifth embodiment of the present invention, when a communicationsystem has a separate location information server, an Internet serviceprovider uses both of a first scheme of acquiring location informationof a subscriber station by means of the location information server, anda second scheme of acquiring, as location information, a cell ID lastaccessed by paging of the subscriber station. Although the presentinvention herein provides a method for acquiring location information ofthe corresponding terminal using both of the two schemes, by way ofexample, the second scheme out of the two schemes can be optionallyused. Thereafter, the Internet service provider selects, as locationinformation of the terminal, the more detailed and correct value in thelocation information acquired through the two schemes, and provides aPush service based thereon. When selecting paging, the fifth embodimentcan further reduce a delay time of the Push service.

Specifically, the Internet service provider acquires locationinformation of the corresponding terminal from the location informationserver by means of the first scheme. Although the Internet serviceprovider has the acquired location information, if the Internet serviceprovider optionally selects the second scheme, it sends a paging requestto the corresponding terminal and receives a cell ID during re-access ofthe terminal. Thereafter, the Internet service provider compares thelocation information acquired from the location information server withthe last cell ID obtained by the paging, and selects, as locationinformation of the terminal, the last location information or the moredetailed and correct value, thereby selecting more correct locationinformation. Therefore, the Internet service provider can reduce thedelay time occurring when providing the Push-type service to thecorresponding terminal. It will be assumed herein that advertisement isprovided as an example of the Push-type service.

FIG. 10 illustrates a signaling flow of an advertisement serviceaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 includes an advertising server (or Internet server) 1014 of anInternet service provider for providing a search service, a subscriberstation 1000 in subscribing to the search service, an RAS 1002, which isa base station of the communication system (or cell) where thesubscriber station (or terminal) 1000 is located, an ASN GW 1004 forstoring the last cell ID of the subscriber station 1000, a CSN 1006handling a connection with the network, a USI server 1008 forinterfacing between the subscriber station 1000 and the search server1014 using network information of the user, a billing server 1010 forbilling of the service used by the subscriber station 1000, and alocation information server 1012 for storing location information of thesubscriber station 1000.

To reduce the time delay while providing the advertisement service, theInternet service provider herein uses both of a method for acquiringlocation information of the corresponding terminal by paging, and amethod for acquiring location information of the corresponding terminalby means of the location information server 1012.

In step 1022, the search server 1014 sends a request for both oflocation information of the subscriber station 1000, provided from thelocation information server 1012, and the last cell ID acquired bypaging, to the USI server 1008.

In step 1028, the USI server 1008 sends a request for locationinformation of the subscriber station 1000 to the location informationserver 1012. In step 1030, the location information server 1012 searchesfor the location information of the subscriber station 1000, storedtherein, and sends the searched location information to the USI server1008. Because the Internet service provider has optionally selected instep 1022 a method of receiving location information of the subscriberstation 1000 by paging, the USI server 1008 sends a request for pagingof the subscriber station 1000 to the subscriber station 1000 via theASN GW 1004 and the RAS 1002 in steps 1032 to 1036. In steps 1038 to1042, the subscriber station 1000, upon receipt of the paging request,performs paging and sends its last accessed cell ID last to the USIserver 1008 via the RAS 1002 and the ASN GW 1004. If the method ofacquiring location information by paging has not been selected, steps1032 to 1042 are skipped.

In step 1048, the USI server 1008 forwards the location information ofthe subscriber station 1000 to the search server 1014. Upon receipt ofthe location information, the search server 1014 delivers in step 1050an advertisement based on the location information of the subscriberstation 1000 to the subscriber station 1000.

Similarly to FIG. 7, because the location information of the subscriberstation 1000 is the service that the USE server 1008, or the networkservice provider, has provided to the Internet service provider, the USIserver 1008, upon receipt of a billing information update request fromthe Internet service provider, operates as follows and then reports theresult to the Internet service provider. In step 1052, the search server1014 sends a billing information update request to the USI server 1008.In step 1054, the USI server 1008 records in the billing server 1010 theinformation indicating that the location information of the subscriberstation 1000 was provided, and then sends the corresponding billinginformation to the search server 1014.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart for providing a location-based Internetservice by an Internet server according to a sixth embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, in step 1100, the Internet server receives arequest for a web portal page from a subscriber station, and thenproceeds to step 1200.

In step 1200, the Internet server determines whether a network accessedby the subscriber station supports a USI in association with an AN DB.If it is determined that the network accessed by the subscriber stationcan support the USI, the Internet server proceeds to step 1300, and ifthe network accessed by the subscriber station cannot support the USI,the Internet server proceeds to step 1400.

In step 1300, the Internet server provides the subscriber station with aweb portal page including an option box by which the subscriber stationcan perform a location-based search service. In step 1400, the Internetserver provides the subscriber station with a web portal page having nooption box by which the location-based search service is possible, orwith an inactivated web portal page.

As can be understood from the foregoing description, according to thepresent invention, the Internet service provider can provide highvalue-added services using user's location information in the mobilenetwork service provider by means of the USI access network of thesubscriber station, and the mobile network service provider can sell theuser's location information to the Internet service provider as a newservice. As a result, the high value-added services provided by theInternet service provider may promote use of the USI-supported mobilecommunication network by the common users.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to acertain preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing an internet service by a server, the method comprising: receiving, from a subscriber station, a search request including a keyword for searching; searching information corresponding to the search request based on location information related to the subscriber station, wherein the location information is acquired by analyzing information of a cell at which the subscriber station is located in a mobile communication system; transmitting the searched information to the subscriber station; and if a reference time has elapsed after generating the information of the cell, updating the location information.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the cell is an identifier (ID) of the cell.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the cell is a cell accessed by the subscriber station during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the updated location information is obtained during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the paging procedure is performed in response to a paging request by the server.
 6. An apparatus for providing an internet service, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal; and a controller configured to receive, from a subscriber station, a search request including a keyword for searching, search information corresponding to the search request based on location information related to the subscriber station, wherein the location information is acquired by analyzing information of a cell at which the subscriber station is located in a mobile communication system, and is configured to update the location information, if a reference time has elapsed after generating the information of the cell, and the transceiver further configured to transmit the searched information to the subscriber station.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the information of the cell is an identifier (ID) of the cell.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the cell is a cell accessed by the subscriber station during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the updated location information is obtained during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the paging procedure is performed in response to a paging request by the server.
 11. A method for using an internet service by a subscriber station, the method comprising: transmitting, to a server, a search request including a keyword for searching; receiving, from the server, searched information corresponding to the search request based on location information related to the subscriber station, wherein the location information is acquired by analyzing information of a cell at which the subscriber station is located in a mobile communication system, and updating, if a reference time has elapsed after generating the information of the cell, the location information.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information of the cell is an identifier (ID) of the cell.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the cell is a cell accessed by the subscriber station during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the updated location information is obtained during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the paging procedure is performed in response to a paging request by the server.
 16. An apparatus for using an internet service, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver for transmitting and receiving a signal; and a controller configured to transmit, to a server, a search request including a keyword for searching and receive from the server, searched information corresponding to the search request based on location information related to the subscriber station, wherein the location information acquired by analyzing information of a cell at which the subscriber station is located in a mobile communication system, wherein the location information is updated if a reference time has elapsed after generating the information of the cell.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the cell is an identifier (ID) of the cell.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the cell is a cell accessed by the subscriber station during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the updated location information is obtained during a paging procedure of the subscriber station.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the paging procedure is performed in response to a paging request by the server. 